GRISAILLE  , a

French term, derived from gris, grey, for painting in monochrome in various shades of grey, particularly used in decoration to represent objects in relief . The frescoes of the roof of the Sistine chapel have portions of the design in grisaille . At Hampton Court the lower part of the decoration of the great staircase by Verrio is in grisaille . The term is also applied to monochrome painting in enamels, and also to stained glass; a fine example of grisaille glass is'in the window known as the Five Sisters, at the end of the north transept in York cathedral .